'God's timing is awesome'

Published: October 21, 2000 12:00 AM

Worshipers were preparing for a Sunday morning service at the Rittman Church of God on Sept. 17 when a "thunderous" crack filled the sanctuary.

Seconds later, the 75-foot-long wooden beam that ran the length of the church's ceiling, was lying atop shattered pews, a decimated podium and a crushed choir loft.

"I stepped out of the sanctuary and went down the side hallway, and then I heard this tremendous sound," said the Rev. Charles Hunter, the church's pastor. "People started to scream, and they were running in and out."

The beam fell directly down the center of the church, landing on pews that church-goers were seating themselves in. Three ceiling fans hung on the beam as well, and when they hit the ground, the blades shattered, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Holding up the fans were 30-inch pipes which Hunter said "came down like spears." It even ripped pages out of a Bible that the church's praise and worship leader had left on the podium just moments before the beam came crashing down.

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Hunter said he expected to see people crushed in their seats as he entered the sanctuary. But as the dust settled, he realized that no one had as much as a scratch on them.

"Nobody got hit with so much as a flying splinter," he said. "I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe the goodness of the Lord. God's timing is awesome. If it had fallen a minute before, the sanctuary would have been filled with a Sunday school class. A minute later and we would have been into worship services.

"That is a tremendous thing to witness."

Stitzner Zipperman, a church trustee, was preparing to walk down one of the side aisles to begin the worship service. He said he heard the loud noise, and by the time he turned around, the beam was on the ground.

"There were some people over on the right that saw it start to fall, but they couldn't do anything about it," Zipperman said. "If it would have been just a little later, we would have been starting the service. It's hard telling what could have happened if it hit anyone."

The church was constructed in 1988, and inspectors have not been able to find a cause for the accident. Insurance has so far covered the cost of replacing or repairing many of the things that were damaged, but has yet to pay for the replacement of the beam itself.

While the accident caused $18,000 worth of damage, it has also created another financial struggle for the church. As repairs are being made, members of the church are meeting in the basement fellowship hall, but numbers are down.

"We have no use of our sanctuary, so our attendance is down and so is our income," Hunter said. "Tithes are strained at the moment, and we are hurting financially.

"Through it all, though, we'll come out ahead and people will be richer for having been through it."

Hunter said the congregation should begin meeting in the sanctuary again by Nov. 1.